Too often our personal “driving force” isn’t composed of our strengths and passions but rather of our fears. We are afraid to confront an issue; to start a conversation; to pick up the phone; to try something new. We are “driven” in another direction entirely, to procrastinate, make excuses, abandon a plan, endure a poor relationship.

As the same poles in a magnet repel, we are “repelled” in a different direction, antipodal to our intended goals. “Fight (our fears) or flight” results in flight. This makes us not only unsuccessful, but also uninteresting.

As with any problem, to remove it we must find the cause. And in this case the cause is almost always an ego problem, poor self-esteem, “baggage” being borne for no rational reason at all. We fear rejection, we fear a “loss,” we fear ridicule, we fear “defeat,” we fear fear itself. Our fears are, of course, irrational, because they create a far worse future than any pain in confronting the obstacles would actually produce.

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.